Join or Renew

REALTOR® is a trademark of the National Association of REALTORS®. Membership in the Southern Maryland Association is not only open to real estate agents holding an active real estate license who want to take advantage of our many perks but also others who are interested in our perks of membership and getting involved in our growing association (see Affiliate Tab).

Involves joining the State and National Associations as well. Primary REALTOR® membership with SMAR typically involves paying all three levels of dues: local, state, and national, according to the proration schedules of each (see schedule below). The application may be emailed or fax it to 240-254-2107. [download application]

Secondary REALTOR® Membership

Allows a REALTOR® to join an additional local association within the state*. MAR & NAR dues are paid through the primary association. Any additional local associations you belong to within the state will only bill for local dues. [download application]

State/National Dues with Secondary Membership

Allows a REALTOR® to join an additional local association with any state they are licensed in*. SMAR collects local and state dues. NAR dues are paid through the primary association.

SMAR DUES PRORATION FOR NEW PRIMARY MEMBERS

Membership fees for new members are prorated based on the normal billing cycle of November 1 – October 31. An entire year of REALTOR® dues are billed November 1st of each year. Note: If you are interested in joining as a Secondary member, please contact the Membership Department directly for your fees via email or 301-274-4406 x 115.

Please note: SMAR collects money for the Maryland REALTORS® (MD) and National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and is automatically distributed to them. The application fee is a one-time fee.

*NAR’s “Board of Choice” policy allows NAR members to join any local association available in a state you are licensed.

Dues & Fees

Please remember: In addition to collecting the local (SMAR) portion of dues, SMAR is required to collect the Maryland REALTORS® and NAR* dues which are immediately distributed to Maryland REALTORS® and NAR.

There is a separate $125 Annual Subscription fee on the account of SentriLock participants.

EXISTING MEMBER DUES BREAKDOWN

Existing Membership Dues

2017-18

2016-17

SMAR

$246

$246

MR*

$206^

$227

NAR**

$155

$155

RPAC*** (Voluntary)

$35

$35

TOTAL WITH RPAC

$642

$663

TOTAL WITHOUT RPAC

$607

$628

^Note: The $25 special assessment for the Maryland REALTORS® Legal & Regulatory Response Fund has been deferred for 2018. The 2018 non-deductable portion of dues attributable to lobbying programs is $19.

*Maryland REALTORS®

**National Association of REALTORS®. For 2018 with dues at $120 per member, NAR computes 43 percent or $52 to be nondeductible for the member's income tax purposes due to NAR lobbying efforts. Please note that the entire $35 Consumer Advertising Campaign special assessment qualifies as fully deductible. In addition, contributions (including member dues) to NAR are not tax deductible as charitable contributions. However, they may be tax deductible under other provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Compliance with the Tax Reform Act of 1993 requires that the portion of dues attributable to lobbying and political activities at the State and Federal levels of government be considered nondeductible for income tax purposes. This nondeductible portion must be disclosed to members on their dues invoice each year.”

***REALTOR Political Action Committee (aka RPAC) fees are suggested and not mandatory. Typically, managers and brokers are asked to pay $109 while agents are asked to pay $35, but these amounts may be adjusted upwards or downwards when payment is made to SMAR. RPAC performs critical services protecting REALTORS® from harmful legislation while advocating the protection of private property rights and supporting legislation that protects and enhances the real estate industry. If you make a contribution to RPAC, please note the following: Contributions are not deductible for federal income tax purposes. Contributions to RPAC are voluntary and are used for political purposes. You may contribute more or less than the suggested amount. You may refuse to contribute without reprisal and the National Association of REALTORS or any of its state or local associations will not favor or disfavor any members because of the amount contributed. 70% of each contribution is used by your state PAC to support state and local political candidates. Until your state PAC reaches its RPAC goal, 30% is sent to National RPAC to support federal candidates and is charged against your limits under 52 U.S.C. 30116. After the state RPAC reaches its RPAC goal it may elect to retain your entire contribution for use in supporting state and local candidates.

Every REALTOR® member of SMAR belongs to three levels of REALTOR® associations: Local, State, and National - each offering unique services and benefits. Become familiar with and make full use of these benefits to get the most out of your membership!

Affiliate membership is only available through a local association. All are welcome as Affiliate members of SMAR – home improvement companies, painters, financial service providers and insurance companies are just a few of the many businesses that benefit from working with our many REALTOR® members. Note: Licensed real estate agents are not eligible for an Affiliate membership. Please see REALTOR® tab.

SMAR Affiliate members enjoy opportunities to network and build lasting business relationships with the REALTORS® most likely to use or recommend their services, as well as other Affiliates who offer complimentary services.

Affiliate Membership allows you to:

Gain access to the more than 1,500 SMAR Realtor® members to market your services.

It’s a competitive market out there. SMAR has about 100 Affiliate members. Chances are, if you’re not a SMAR Affiliate member, your competition is! Click here to download the Affiliate Member

Access to the Lock Box System: Some licensed Affiliate members may also choose to join the Sentrilock Lock Box System. Lock box participation fees are separate and not included in the proration schedule above. Not all Affiliate members may qualify to join our box system. Affiliate membership with SMAR does not automatically qualify a member for access to the lock box system. Contact Trinell Church at 301-274-4406 or via email with inquiries.

Dues Proration Schedule

Membership fees to join are based on the dues proration chart below plus a one-time $200 application fee.

November
$246.00

December
$225.50

January
$205.00

February
$184.50

March
$164.00

April
$143.50

May
$123.00

June
$102.50

July
$82.00

August
$61.50

September
41.00

October
20.50

Additional employees may join for a flat rate of $50 per year (no proration) without an application fee.

What are the REALTOR® membership requirements?

Must be a licensed real estate agent in Maryland

Completion New Member Orientation along with an approved REALTOR® Code of Ethics training class must be completed with 150 days for any newly licensed agent. (Note: This is not required for those rejoining within less than 1 year.)

Completion of a minimum of 2.5 hours of approved Code of Ethics training per four year cycle. The current cycle is January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2016. Failure to complete the required periodic ethics training shall be considered a violation of a membership duty for which REALTORS® membership shall be suspended until such time as the required training is completed. You may take the online course through NAR at no charge for no CE here or you can it SMAR with CE for a fee. Check out our education schedule here.

Dues Notification Timeline for 2017-18 Dues***Pay by Nov 20th and be entered to win a 1 of 5 $25 Wawa gift cards***

Note: All notifications are sent to members who have NOT paid their dues. If you think you receive a notice in error, please contact SMAR's Billing Department at 301-274-4406 or via email to verify your payment status. Thank you.

Important Dates for UNPAID Dues:

Dec 2nd - a $35 late fee is added to the balance due

Jan 2nd – an additional $35 late fee is added to the balance due

Feb 2nd – REALTOR® Membership is terminated. Access to SentriLock and SMAR Forms is cut off. Once membership is terminated, there is a $200 application fee to rejoin plus all outstanding REALTOR® fees. There is also a $50 reactivation fee for SentriLock cards.

Certified letter to Brokers – non-member licensees fee due in 30 days (non-payment office membership will be terminated)

When are dues billed? Annually on November 1st

Do I get a paper bill? No. Electronic invoices are available after logging in at SMAR.REALTOR and select the “My Transactions” tab. Click on “Pay Open Orders.”

How am I notified? Emails notifications are sent weekly to those with outstanding dues. If you receive an email and you think you have paid, please contact SMAR immediately at via email or 301-274-4406. Text messages are also incorporated in the notification process. To update contact information, login to SMAR.REALTOR and click on “My Information” or send an email to the Membership Director.

Does SMAR save my credit card information and automatically charge me each year for dues? No. SMAR does NOT save credit card information.

SMAR collects at least $628 in dues. Does SMAR retain all of that? No. SMAR only retains SMAR dues, which is $246 for the 2017-18 dues year. The balance is transferred to the Maryland REALTORS® & NAR (National Association of REALTORS®) immediately when paid online.

Why does SMAR collect dues in November/December instead of July? It has to do with when dues are due to Maryland REALTORS® and NAR. Yearly fees for Maryland REALTORS® and NAR are good for November 1 – October 31 and January 1 – December 31st respectively. SMAR was one of a dwindling number of associations that billed outside of Maryland REALTORS® and NAR’s years. This required extra billing/invoicing setup and work for each of the three types of dues collected (National, State, Local) as well as handling pro-rations which were juggled separately. Additionally, our RPAC collection’s year was always out of sync with State and National due to our collecting at the end of what Maryland REALTORS® and NAR consider the REALTOR® year.

Are payment plans accepted? Unfortunately not. As stated above, dues to Maryland REALTORS® & NAR are transferred immediately. As a REALTOR®, you have access to the REALTORS® Federal Credit Union which provides a Dues Savings Account. Putting aside about $55 a month is what it takes to save for your REALTOR® dues ($63 a month if you have SentriLock). $5 is what is required to open an account. Click here for more information.

Is SentriLock included in the dues bill? No. SentriLock is a separate fee and there is a separate order/invoice on your member account if you participate in SentriLock. You access it the same way you would your dues bill.

What happens if I don’t pay my dues by December 1st? A $35 late fee is added on December 2nd.

What happens if I don’t pay my dues by January 1st? An additional $35 late fee is added on January 2nd.

What happens if I don’t pay my dues by February 1st? REALTOR® Membership is terminated on February 2nd. Access to SentriLock and SMAR Forms is cut off. Once membership is terminated, there is a $200 application fee to rejoin plus all outstanding REALTOR® fees. There is also a $50 reactivation fee for SentriLock cards.

In 1981, the National Association of REALTORS® established the REALTOR® Emeritus program to recognize those who have held membership in the National Association of REALTORS® for a cumulative period of 40 years.

Any person who has held membership in the National Association as a REALTOR® or REALTOR ASSOCIATE® or a combination of both for a cumulative period of 40 years in one or more Associations of REALTORS®, is eligible for Emeritus status.

Dues - Members with emeritus status no longer need to pay dues to the National Association of REALTORS® or the Southern Maryland Association of REALTORS® in order to maintain their membership. Beginning with the 2016 dues invoicing, there will be a 50 year member requirement before MAR will recognize Emeritus status and waive dues for any newly qualified member.